The Painted Couch

I don't love the idea of painting upholstery.

I also don't love stained upholstery.

Or tufting. 

(doing it...I  DO love how it looks)

So, what's a girl to do? 

Adjust. 

(Paint or Embrace...those were the options!)

Initially, I simply lived with it

The sofa resided at our store, for relaxing

It's not for sale, so I wasn't terribly concerned about it

but it was starting to drive me NUTS

that it had water marks in random places

(we scored it for $20...the house it was in had a HUGE roof leak!)

I figured, what's the worst that can happen?

I could ruin the couch.

No biggie in this instance, right?

So I painted it...

I couldn't get behind painting the seat cushions, so those will have new covers made

(in grey denim!)

We'll add some grey denim throw pillows to tie it all together

I used Amy Howard Home One Step Paint in Atelier

(the PERFECT grey)

I did dilute the paint down by about 40% or so...

enough to make it spread on easily without running all over the place

It took less than one can to do the whole couch

(the back and sides are all upholstered)

The most time consuming part was those tufts...

I used a smaller brush to make sure the deep openings were covered

and I had to make sure I got paint under the folds, too...

The frame, of course, was super fast. 

I painted that first with undiluted paint

I left the sofa to dry for about two hours

(it might have been dry sooner but I didn't check)

At this point, it felt a bit like you'd expect painted fabric to feel

sort of rough and not really pliable

Here is where I was REALLY nervous!

I applied carnauba wax (clear)

with a clean rag

I did so LIGHTLY and really buffed it in

After about 20 minutes, I went back and BUFFED the entire sofa

(frame and all)

with a buffing brush and HOLY COW what a difference!

Now, it is similar to a thick canvas or oilcloth

Not exactly the velvet I was hoping for,

but for less than $30 and a few hours of my time,

I'm really happy w the results

I sat in it today and it's perfectly comfortable...

and I did NOT end up with wax or paint on my clothes

Overall, I would not say I prefer this to proper re-upholstering...

but in a pinch (or on a tight budget!)

this was a really great solution! 

Thanks for dropping by!

Michele